Leah Hazard's blog

The latest update from our assessment team bound for Libya confirms that they've crossed safely through the Libyan border. The humanitarian picture is still uncertain, and they're working to ascertain needs on the ground. It's been suggested that food shortages may soon be a problem in Eastern Libya.

You can stay up to date on their work by following them on Twitter: @cassandranelson and @stevemhaley.

Mercy Corps has also dispatched a team to Tunisia to assess the situation on the ground there. They're expected to arrive by Saturday. We'll keep you updated as we receive more information.

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Our winnings will support our programs around the globe — including helping us bring together youth from around the globe for positive social action via a Global Citizen Corps Youth Summit.

Despite being a rainy, post-holiday Monday afternoon, there are cheers around Mercy Corps' headquarters. Why? Mercy Corps was just announced as the winner of Western Union's 50 Days of Giving Campaign! That means $150,000 will go to families in need around the world, and support our youth programs here in the United States!

We truly couldn't have won this money without the continued support of our donors, supporters and staff — including lots of Global Citizen Corps youth leaders — who voted every day for 50 days! Our Facebook fans definitely lifted us to victory during the last few days of the campaign, so if you're not already a fan, here's a perfect opportunity to go join a great group of supporters.

On behalf of the entire Mercy Corps team, and the beneficiaries we serve, thank you for helping us secure this funding. We couldn't have done it without you!

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Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

Manju's story is typical of the women that live on Assam's tea estates. She plucks Assamese tea for about eight hours a day — downpour or broiling sun, usually barefoot — with a heavy basket on her shoulder.

She's a permanent worker on the Hatimara Tea Estate. She never learned to read because her parents never learned to read. Her parents were tea pluckers as well — and school was never an option.

Just a year ago, Manju didn't know how to hold a pen. She couldn't read the signs on the tea estate — the signs announcing the name of the place where she lives and works. She couldn't sign her name on her paycheck or fill out the paperwork to start a bank account.

There are many women like Manju on Assam's tea estates. But with your support, we can help rewrite their stories.

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Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

I should clarify that before a few weeks ago, I had never met Sonia and Rima. But when we met, I felt like I was catching up with old friends. I knew about the challenges they faced growing up on Assam's tea estates — and their aspirations to own their own successful beauty salon. I had read about their struggles and goals following my colleague Roger Burks' trip to the tea fields of Assam in 2008.

When Roger met Sonia and Rima, they were just finishing up their training and apprenticeship thanks to the help of Mercy Corps and TAZO Tea's CHAI Project.

It's rare that when you're based at Mercy Corps' headquarters in Portland, Oregon you're able to catch up with the folks we work with. I felt lucky to talk with with Sonia and Rima and learn what they ended up naming the business they were only dreaming about two years earlier: Rose Beauty Salon.

In November, they'll celebrate the two-year anniversary of running their own shop from their home. They still have a long way to go to see a consistent profit each month, but have big dreams of moving their shop off their home on the tea estate and into town in order to secure more customers once Sonia finishes studying at college.

"We want to be renowned beauticians in the area" Rima explained to me confidently.

And I have no doubt that one day they will. I only hope that, when they do, I'll have the opportunity to stop in for a hair cut and to catch up.

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Invitations for today's event. Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

This morning I woke up thinking about the Motadhura Community near the Tumsong Tea Estate in Darjeeling. Really. Because today they are officially celebrating the construction of their new Community Learning Center — thanks to the help of Mercy Corps and TAZO Tea's CHAI program.

Although today I'm in overcast Portland, Oregon — and not the tea fields of Darjeeling, last week I was lucky enough to join the community for a special puja (prayer ceremony) to celebrate the new center.

CHAI worked with the community to match their contributions of labor and local materials with things like cement, rods, bricks and window panes.

A few of the youngest members of the Motadhura Community... with the largest smiles. Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

During a break in the singing, about 45 people gathered to talk with me and a colleague. Manressa Tamang, Vice-President of the Motadhura's Community Action Group, explained why the center was such a priority for the village. Before, there was no location to commemorate marriages or deaths, or even large community meetings. Now they hope to hold such events here, but also to provide educational opportunities for everyone.

One day soon, Manressa hopes to secure computers for the center. "People here are all [tea] garden workers. They can't afford to send their children outside. So a computer learning center would be good."

As we left, a young man stepped forward to express his thanks for the center. Anup Pradhan spoke slowly, "It is a matter of great pleasure for us that we have this great building. Thank you for the help of the CHAI project. Before we didn't have any musical and cultural programs."

Thousands of miles away, I imagine that today's celebration is full of music, food and big smiles... especially by the younger community members, who have a lot to look forward to.

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Anjana Tanti. Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

Anjana Tanti thinks she's about 35. Age is not something people pay much attention to on the tea estates, where she grew up and now raises her own family.

Having dropped out of school early, becoming a tea plucker at about the age of 12, she never got the chance to learn to read. "I couldn't even read the letters on the signs of the tea estate," she says.

So when she heard about the Mercy Corps CHAI Women's Empowerment through Literacy (WEL) Program, she didn't hesitate to sign up.

The result? She couldn't put her books down!

"I would carry the books around with me when I plucked the teas," she explained. She studied during every free
moment she could get. She was selected to be captain of her class, looking into her classmates' absences and encouraging them to return to class. Her teacher bragged that after four classes, she could read the lessons fluently.

Now, Ajana can't stop thinking about continuing her studies. "I want to learn more. My daughter is in class 5 so she helps me study. She insists that I learn to write my name in English!"

As we talk, she isn't somber for a moment — and her smile is contagious. Despite the heat, humidity and fatigue that I'm feeling from traveling, I can't stop smiling as I listen to her talk.

"Now we are recognized by everyone in the community as people who can read and write," she smiles. It's clear that she's proud of the new identity she's claimed for herself through hard work and determination.

As our conversation comes to a close, she bursts forth with a giggle and one demand: "We request that you open the centers again... I want to learn more! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn. I am very grateful."

And with that, I have no doubt that somehow Anjana will continue to learn. The WEL Program seems to have awakened a desire to learn that nothing can hamper.

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One of the hotly-contested — and much-needed — youth coaching centers in India's Assam state. Photo: Leah Hazard/Mercy Corps

Last May, about 40 teens showed up at Mercy Corps' office in Assam to stage a sit-in. They had hired a truck to take them from their homes surrounding the Maud Tea Estate to Mercy Corps' Assam office...not an easy drive.

The Assam office had just chosen to shut down its six coaching centers for youth due to funding cuts. The money used for the centers was reallocated to scholarships for the students who had already completed the coaching, but the students weren't having it.

Rosy Choudhury, Director of Programs for Mercy Corps' East and North East India Programs, laughed as she recalled the situation. "They said 'we're not leaving this office until you open back up the centers!'"

You see, about half of these kids don't have anyone at home who can help them with their studies. Many of their parents are illiterate. The children help with the parents with purchasing items at the market — or signing forms at the bank. But despite the challenges, these kids have big dreams of a future beyond the tea estates.

According to Mercy Corps' David Ekka, who manages the youth coaching program, the schools in Assam have a 1:200 teacher-to-student ratio. Grade one classes average about 70 students, and they just grow from there. One grade 9 student said his classes at school have 131 students.

It's hard for kids to get the help they need in order to pass grade 10. In response to the tough educational situation, Mercy Corps and TAZO Tea's CHAI Program implemented the coaching program where students would come get special help on certain subjects from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., five days a week — before heading off to school.

Today only one center is operational, but it's clear what a difference it's making. All you need to see is the hands of the 9th graders pledging to pass grade 10 with little or no support at home — or the class full of of grade 10 students professing their intentions to graduate school and give back to their communities.

Meet the future doctors, engineers, policemen, teachers — and one social worker — of Assam.

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I love Mother's Day. No, I'm not a mother myself — but I love a day that makes me stop to appreciate the person who has the most to do with the person I am today. Because, let's face it — none of us really do it enough.

I smile every time I see this photo from one of our annual family vacations. Here my mom, Eva, wrangles both me and my brother Erik. Photo: William Hazard

Your mom will receive a beautiful card describing the impact of your donation on women in need — and a pair of striking fair trade leaf earrings.

My mom's name is Eva and she's a saint. No, really. She raised me and my brother with a grace and sense of humor I can only hope to one day emulate with my own children — and that leads me on a continual search for meaningful ways to say thanks for all that she's done for me.

This Mother's Day Mercy Corps is pairing our Women's Leadership Kit with a beautiful pair of fair-trade earrings handmade by women in Kenya. This $75 kit supports our work, which includes providing the training and support for women in developing countries to become entrepreneurs and community leaders — and the earrings make for an extra-special gift for mom.

The earrings are imported by our partner Global Sistergoods — a fair-trade business run by two sisters who are also mothers. They work to connect women in developing countries with customers in Western markets through handicrafts and the stories behind them.

The earrings are handmade by a Kenyan-based cooperative of physically disabled women who came together to support themselves and their families. They proudly declare that "disability is not inability" and the cooperative now provides jobs to 160 people — allowing these moms to better care for their children and families.

So on May 9, be sure to remember your mom. And if you're still looking for a gift, consider one that will support mothers in Kenya and across the globe. Your mom will love the beautiful card and jewelry (I know mine will) — but perhaps more importantly, she'll be inspired by the stories behind them.

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This time of year there are always lots of gift guides published — what to get for Mom, Dad, the hostess and the fashionista. Jewelry? A snuggie? Suggestions abound. But what about the activist?

Mercy Corps has been working with authors Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn to promote their new book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The book tells the inspiring stories of brave women who have overcome daunting circumstances to set their lives on a better path.

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner praises the book as "at once a savage indictment of gender inequality in the developing world and an inspiring testament to these women's courage, and their struggle for hope and recovery. An unexpectedly uplifting read."

And if you purchase Half the Sky through these links to Amazon or Powell's Books, Mercy Corps will receive between 4 to 7.5 percent of the order to support our mission around the world. (For Amazon orders our take depends on the month's volume of items purchased using that link; for Powell's it's 7.5 percent.)

But for an even better gift, pair the book with one of our women-inspired Mercy Kits:

• The Women's Small Business Kit gives women the resources to turn their ideas and energy into successful small businesses.
• The Women's Health Kit helps establish maternal health and midwifery programs in places like Guatemala, Honduras and India to provide vital, compassionate care.
• The Women's Leadership Kit helps provide the training, mentorship and other support for women in developing countries to blossom into successful entrepreneurs and community leaders.

Your loved one will receive a beautiful card featuring Mercy Corps' best photography and a description of how this gift supports Mercy Corps' work around the globe.

How's that for a one-two punch against the oppression of women — and a gift they'll remember for a long time.

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Harebrained is how Jody Pratt described her idea to ask for a matching fundraising drive to support Mercy Corps' work around the world, rather than Christmas presents from the mall. However, within a few weeks she and friends had raised hundreds of dollars — and in less than two weeks they exceeded their goal.

An email from Jody revealed how important our new personal fundraising pages were to her goal:

I have to say that your donation page was instrumental to my fundraising. That functionality and facebook are 100% to thank for the success of this little scheme. I've been posting appeals most days. Some are hard tugs on the heartstrings. Others are sobering statistics, and others are silly. Almost all have resulted in a new flurry of pledges.

I believe that if the link wasn't right there with my status updates, and if donating were more complicated than simply clicking on a link, I couldn't have raised a fraction of the money I did. Hooray for technology!

I am astonished at how much good I was able to drum up with so little effort. Hopefully, this sum (which may be a small donation by some standards, but is big by ours) will do some good in the world. This hope is bringing me far more joy than any material gift ever could.

I'm a fundraiser for Mercy Corps every day — but I was inspired by Jody's efforts and successes to mobilize her friends and family around our work to make such a generous contribution. Times are tough and people like Jody are working together with family and friends to make small contributions really add up to big change through pages set up for weddings, birthdays, bicycle races and more.

So, I challenge you: what will your harebrained idea be?

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